Apparatus, system and method of estimating a location of a mobile device

ABSTRACT

Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods of estimating a location of a mobile device. For example, an apparatus may include a wireless communication unit to communicate a message between an access point and a mobile device, the message including a group identifier to indicate the access point belongs to a group of two or more access points having local coordinates measured with respect to a common origin point.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of and priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/893,292 entitled “Apparatus,Method And System of Location Estimation”, filed Oct. 21, 2013, theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein generally relate to estimating a locationof a mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Outdoor navigation is widely deployed thanks to the development ofvarious global-navigation-satellite-systems (GNSS), e.g., GlobalPositioning System (GPS), GALILEO, and the like.

Recently, there has been a lot of focus on indoor navigation. This fielddiffers from the outdoor navigation, since the indoor environment doesnot enable the reception of signals from GNSS satellites. As a result, alot of effort is being directed towards solving the indoor navigationproblem. This problem does not yet have a scalable solution withsatisfactory precision.

One solution for indoor navigation includes a Time-of-Flight (ToF)measurement method. The ToF may be defined as the overall time a signalpropagates from a first station, e.g., a user (“client”) mobile device,to a second station, e.g., an access point (AP), and back to the firststation. A distance between the first and second stations may becalculated based on the ToF value, for example, by dividing the ToFvalue by two and multiplying the result by the speed of light.

An estimated location of the first station may be determined bycalculating two or more distances between the first station and two ormore other stations, e.g., other APs, by utilizing a suitable method,e.g., a trilateration method.

The location calculation method may not provide a location estimationwith a desired accuracy, for example, if the one or more distances donot have a desired accuracy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in thefigures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to otherelements for clarity of presentation. Furthermore, reference numeralsmay be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogouselements. The figures are listed below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustration of a system, inaccordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a deployment of six nodes in anindoor environment, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a location configurationinformation (LCI) request frame, in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an LCI report frame, in accordancewith some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a response neighbor report frame,and a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) information field of theresponse neighbor report frame, in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a method of estimating a locationof a mobile device, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an article of manufacture, inaccordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of some embodiments.However, it will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the artthat some embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, unitsand/or circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscurethe discussion.

Discussions herein utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing”,“computing”, “calculating”, “determining”, “establishing”, “analyzing”,“checking”, or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) ofa computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or otherelectronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform datarepresented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within thecomputer's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer's registersand/or memories or other information storage medium that may storeinstructions to perform operations and/or processes.

The terms “plurality” and “a plurality”, as used herein, include, forexample, “multiple” or “two or more”. For example, “a plurality ofitems” includes two or more items.

References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “demonstrativeembodiment”, “various embodiments” etc., indicate that the embodiment(s)so described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated useof the phrase “in one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the sameembodiment, although it may.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinaladjectives “first”, “second”, “third” etc., to describe a common object,merely indicate that different instances of like objects are beingreferred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so describedmust be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking,or in any other manner.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices andsystems, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, amobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, anon-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehiculardevice, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumerdevice, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communicationstation, a wireless communication device, a wireless Access Point (AP),a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device,an audio device, an audio-video (A/V) device, a wired or wirelessnetwork, a wireless area network, a Wireless Video Area Network (WVAN),a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Personal AreaNetwork (PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with devices and/or networksoperating in accordance with existing Wireless-Gigabit-Alliance (WGA)specifications (Wireless Gigabit Alliance, Inc WiGig MAC and PHYSpecification Version 1.1, April 2011, Final specification) and/orfuture versions and/or derivatives thereof, devices and/or networksoperating in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11 standards (IEEE802.11-2012, IEEE Standard for Information technology—Telecommunicationsand information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan areanetworks—Specific requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium AccessControl (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, Mar. 29, 2102;IEEE802.11 task group ac (TGac) (“IEEE802.11-09/0308r12 —TGac ChannelModel Addendum Document”); IEEE 802.11k-IEEE Standard for Informationtechnology—Local and metropolitan area networks—Specificrequirements—Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) andPhysical Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 1: Radio ResourceMeasurement of Wireless LANs, Jun. 12, 2008; IEEE 802.11u-2011-IEEEStandard for Information Technology-Telecommunications and informationexchange between systems-Local and Metropolitan networks-specificrequirements-Part II: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) andPhysical Layer (PHY) specifications: Amendment 9: Interworking withExternal Networks; IEEE 802.11 task group ad (TGad) (IEEE P802.11adStandard for Information Technology—Telecommunications and InformationExchange Between Systems—Local and Metropolitan Area Networks—SpecificRequirements—Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) andPhysical Layer (PHY) Specifications—Amendment 3: Enhancements for VeryHigh Throughput in the 60 GHz Band)) and/or future versions and/orderivatives thereof, devices and/or networks operating in accordancewith existing Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Alliance (WFA) Peer-to-Peer (P2P)specifications (WiFi P2P technical specification, version 1.2, 2012)and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof, devices and/ornetworks operating in accordance with existing cellular specificationsand/or protocols, e.g., 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or future versions and/orderivatives thereof, devices and/or networks operating in accordancewith existing Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standards, including the SecureUser Plane Location (SUPL) protocol (SUPL-OMA-AD-SUPL-V2.0) and/orfuture versions and/or derivatives thereof, devices and/or networksoperating in accordance with existing World-Wide-Web Consortium (W3C)standards, including the W3C Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Version 5,October 2010 and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof, devicesand/or networks operating in accordance with existing WirelessHD™specifications and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof, unitsand/or devices which are part of the above networks, and the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-wayradio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communicationsystems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, aPersonal Communication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device whichincorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portableGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device, a device which incorporates aGPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFIDelement or chip, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transceiver ordevice, a Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiver or device, aMultiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device, a devicehaving one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, DigitalVideo Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devicesor systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a Smartphone, aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types ofwireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, RadioFrequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-DivisionMultiple Access (TDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet RadioService (GPRS), extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrierCDMA, Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT),Bluetooth®, Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee™,Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), 2G,2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, Fifth Generation (5G) mobile networks, 3GPP, LongTerm Evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in variousother devices, systems and/or networks.

The term “wireless device”, as used herein, includes, for example, adevice capable of wireless communication, a communication device capableof wireless communication, a communication station capable of wirelesscommunication, a portable or non-portable device capable of wirelesscommunication, or the like. In some demonstrative embodiments, awireless device may be or may include a peripheral that is integratedwith a computer, or a peripheral that is attached to a computer. In somedemonstrative embodiments, the term “wireless device” may optionallyinclude a wireless service.

The term “communicating” as used herein with respect to a wirelesscommunication signal includes transmitting the wireless communicationsignal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example,a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating awireless communication signal, may include a wireless transmitter totransmit the wireless communication signal to at least one otherwireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver toreceive the wireless communication signal from at least one otherwireless communication unit. The verb communicating may be used to referto the action of transmitting or the action of receiving. In oneexample, the phrase “communicating a signal” may refer to the action oftransmitting the signal by a first device, and may not necessarilyinclude the action of receiving the signal by a second device. Inanother example, the phrase “communicating a signal” may refer to theaction of receiving the signal by a first device, and may notnecessarily include the action of transmitting the signal by a seconddevice.

Some demonstrative embodiments may be used in conjunction with a WLAN.Other embodiments may be used in conjunction with any other suitablewireless communication network, for example, a wireless area network, a“piconet”, a WPAN, a WVAN and the like.

Some demonstrative embodiments may be used in conjunction with awireless communication network communicating over a frequency band of 60GHz. However, other embodiments may be implemented utilizing any othersuitable wireless communication frequency bands, for example, anExtremely High Frequency (EHF) band (the millimeter wave (mmWave)frequency band), e.g., a frequency band within the frequency band ofbetween 20 Ghz and 300 GHZ, a WLAN frequency band, a WPAN frequencyband, a frequency band according to the WGA specification, and the like.

The term “antenna”, as used herein, may include any suitableconfiguration, structure and/or arrangement of one or more antennaelements, components, units, assemblies and/or arrays. In someembodiments, the antenna may implement transmit and receivefunctionalities using separate transmit and receive antenna elements. Insome embodiments, the antenna may implement transmit and receivefunctionalities using common and/or integrated transmit/receiveelements. The antenna may include, for example, a phased array antenna,a single element antenna, a set of switched beam antennas, and/or thelike.

The term “station” (STA), as used herein, may include any logical entitythat is a singly addressable instance of a medium access control (MAC)and a physical layer (PHY) interface to a wireless medium (WM).

The phrase “access point” (AP), as used herein, may include an entitythat contains one station (STA) and provides access to distributionservices, via the WM for associated STAs.

The phrase “non-access-point (non-AP) station (STA)”, as used herein,may relate to a STA that is not contained within an AP.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which schematically illustrates a blockdiagram of a system 100, in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some demonstrative embodiments, system 100 mayinclude one or more wireless communication devices capable ofcommunicating content, data, information and/or signals via a wirelessmedium (WM) 103. For example, system 100 may include one or more mobiledevices, e.g., a mobile device 102, and/or one or more wirelesscommunication nodes, e.g., node 130, node 140, node 150, node 160, node170 and/or node 180.

In some demonstrative embodiments, wireless medium 103 may include, forexample, a radio channel, a cellular channel, an RF channel, a WirelessFidelity (WiFi) channel, an IR channel, and the like. One or moreelements of system 100 may optionally be capable of communicating overany suitable wired communication links.

In some demonstrative embodiments, system 100 may include one or moreclient STAs, and one or more APs. For example, device 102 may performthe functionality of a client STA and node 130, node 140, node 150, node160, node 170 and/or node 180 may perform the functionality of an AP,e.g., a WiFi AP, a router, and the like.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130, node 140, node 150, node160, node 170 and/or node 180 may include a mobile or a non-mobiledevice, e.g., a static device.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130, node 140, node 150, node160, node 170 and/or node 180 may include, for example, a PC, a desktopcomputer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, atablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handhelddevice, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, anoff-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phonefunctionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, amobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobilephone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device whichincorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPSdevice, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktopcomputer, a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, anA/V device, a Set-Top-Box (STB), a video source, an audio source, avideo sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, aflat panel display, a Personal Media Player (PMP), a data source, a datasink, a, or the like.

In some demonstrative embodiments, mobile device 102 may include, forexample, a User Equipment (UE), a mobile computer, a laptop computer, anotebook computer, a tablet computer, an Ultrabook™ computer, a mobileinternet device, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a storagedevice, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, anoff-board device, a hybrid device, a consumer device, a vehiculardevice, a non-vehicular device, a portable device, a mobile phone, acellular telephone, a PCS device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVBdevice, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a“Carry Small Live Large” (CSLL) device, an Ultra Mobile Device (UMD), anUltra Mobile PC (UMPC), a Mobile Internet Device (MID), an “Origami”device or computing device, a device that supports DynamicallyComposable Computing (DCC), an “Origami” device or computing device, avideo device, an audio device, an A/V device, a gaming device, a mediaplayer, a Smartphone, or the like.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102, node 130, node 140, node150, node 160, node 170 and/or node 180 may include wirelesscommunication units, to perform wireless communication between device102, node 130, node 140, node 150, node 160, node 170 and/or node 180and/or with one or more other wireless communication devices. Forexample, device 102 may include a wireless communication unit 112,and/or node 130 may include a wireless communication unit 132.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the wireless communication units mayinclude one or more radios. For example, wireless communication unit 112and/or wireless communication unit 132 may include a radio 114, e.g.,including one or more wireless transmitters, receivers and/ortransceivers able to send and/or receive wireless communication signals,RF signals, frames, blocks, transmission streams, packets, messages,data items, and/or data. In one example, the radios may includemodulation elements, demodulation elements, amplifiers, analog todigital and digital to analog converters, filters, and/or the like. Forexample, wireless communication units 112 and/or 132 may include or maybe implemented as part of a wireless Network Interface Card (NIC), andthe like.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the wireless communication units mayinclude, or may be associated with, one or more antennas. For example,wireless communicate unit 112 may be associated with one or moreantennas 108 and wireless communicate unit 132 may be associated withone or more antennas 138.

Antennas 108 and/or 138 may include any type of antennas suitable fortransmitting and/or receiving wireless communication signals, blocks,frames, transmission streams, packets, messages and/or data. Forexample, antennas 108 and/or 138 may include any suitable configuration,structure and/or arrangement of one or more antenna elements,components, units, assemblies and/or arrays. Antennas 108 and/or 138 mayinclude, for example, antennas suitable for directional communication,e.g., using beamforming techniques. For example, antennas 108 and/or 138may include a phased array antenna, a multiple element antenna, a set ofswitched beam antennas, and/or the like. In some embodiments, antennas108 and/or 138 may implement transmit and receive functionalities usingseparate transmit and receive antenna elements. In some embodiments,antennas 108 and/or 138 may implement transmit and receivefunctionalities using common and/or integrated transmit/receiveelements.

In some demonstrative embodiments, mobile device 102 and/or one or moreof nodes 130, 140, 150, 160, 170 and/or 180 may also include, forexample, a processor 191, an input unit 192, an output unit 193, amemory unit 194, and a storage unit 195. Mobile device 102 mayoptionally include other suitable hardware components and/or softwarecomponents. In some demonstrative embodiments, some or all of thecomponents of mobile device 102 may be enclosed in a common housing orpackaging, and may be interconnected or operably associated using one ormore wired or wireless links. In other embodiments, components of mobiledevice 102 may be distributed among multiple or separate devices.

Processor 191 includes, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aDigital Signal Processor (DSP), one or more processor cores, asingle-core processor, a dual-core processor, a multiple-core processor,a microprocessor, a host processor, a controller, a plurality ofprocessors or controllers, a chip, a microchip, one or more circuits,circuitry, a logic unit, an Integrated Circuit (IC), anApplication-Specific IC (ASIC), or any other suitable multi-purpose orspecific processor or controller. For example, processor 111 executesinstructions, for example, of an Operating System (OS) of mobile device102 and/or of one or more suitable applications.

Memory unit 194 includes, for example, a Random Access Memory (RAM), aRead Only Memory (ROM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM(SD-RAM), a flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, acache memory, a buffer, a short term memory unit, a long term memoryunit, or other suitable memory units. Storage unit 195 include, forexample, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a Compact Disk (CD)drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD drive, or other suitable removable ornon-removable storage units. For example, memory unit 194 and/or storageunit 195, for example, may store data processed by mobile device 102.

Input unit 192 includes, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, atouch-screen, a touch-pad, a track-ball, a stylus, a microphone, orother suitable pointing device or input device. Output unit 193includes, for example, a monitor, a screen, a touch-screen, a flat paneldisplay, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display unit, a Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) display unit, a plasma display unit, one or more audio speakers orearphones, or other suitable output devices.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102, node 130, node 140, node150, node 160, node 170 and/or node 180 may be located in an indoorenvironment, for example, a mall, a building, an office and/or the like.In other embodiments, device 102, node 130, node 140, node 150, node160, node 170 and/or node 180 may be located in any other environment,e.g., an indoor and/or an outdoor location.

In some demonstrative embodiments, mobile device 102 may estimate alocation of mobile device 102 within the indoor environment based on aTime of Flight (ToF) measurement, (also referred to as “Fine TimeMeasurement (FTM)”).

The ToF may be defined as the overall time a signal propagates from afirst station, e.g., device 102, to a second station, e.g., node 130,node 140, node 150, node 160, node 170 and/or node 180, and back to thefirst station. A distance between the first and second stations may bedetermined based on the ToF value, for example, by dividing the ToFvalue by two and multiplying the result by the speed of light.

In one example, device 102 may transmit a message, denoted M1, to node130, at a time, denoted t1. The time t1 may be a Time of Departure(ToD), denoted ToD(M1), of the message M1.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130 may receive message M1 anddetermine a time, denoted t2, e.g., by determining a ToA, denotedToA(M1), of message M1.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130 may transmit a message,denoted M1-ACK, to device 102, at a time, denoted t3. Message M1-ACKmayinclude, for example, an acknowledgement message transmitted in responseto message M1. The time t3 may be a ToD, denoted ToD(M1-ACK), of themessage M1-ACK.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may receive message M1-ACKand determine a time, denoted t4, e.g., by determining a ToA, denotedToA(M1-ACK), of message M1-ACK.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130 may transmit a message,denoted M2, to device 102. Message M2 may include, for example,information corresponding to the time t2 and/or the time t3. Forexample, message M2 may include a timestamp, e.g., a ToA timestamp,including the time t2, and a timestamp, e.g., a ToD timestamp, includingthe time t3.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may receive message M2.Device 102 may determine a ToF between devices 102 and node 130, forexample, based on message M2.

For example, device 102 may determine the ToF based on an average, orany other function, applied to the time values t1, t2, t3 and t4. Forexample, device 102 may determine the ToF, e.g., as follows:

ToF=[(t4−t1)−(t3−t2)]/2  (1)

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may transmit a message,denoted M2-ACK, to node 130. Message M2-ACK may include, for example, anacknowledgement message transmitted in response to message M2.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may determine the rangebetween devices 102 and 104 based on the calculated ToF.

For example, device 102 may determine the range, denoted r_(k), e.g., asfollows:

r _(k)=ToF*C  (2)

wherein C denotes the radio wave propagation speed.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may determine a locationof device 102, e.g., an absolute location of device 102, based on theestimated range r_(k).

For example, device 102 may determine two or more ToF values, e.g.,according to Equation 2, with respect to two or more other stations,e.g., nodes 140, 150, and/or other nodes.

Device 102 may determine the location of device 102 based on the two ormore ToF values, e.g., by using trilateration techniques.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may determine the locationof device 102 based on a location of the other stations, which are usedfor the ToF measurements, e.g., nodes 130, 140 and 150.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the location of node 130, node 140,node 150, node 160, node 170 and/or node 180 may be given in globalcoordinates, e.g., Earth-Centered-Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinates, WorldGeodetic System 1984 (WGS84) coordinates, and/or the like.

In some demonstrative embodiments, applications/services 125 fornavigating device 102 within the indoor environment, e.g., an indoornavigation application, may utilize the location of one or more of node130, node 140, node 150, node 160, node 170 and/or node 180 in localcoordinates.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the local coordinates may be used,for example, to enable navigation of device 102 with respect to pointsand/or locations within the indoor environment, which may be identifiedbased on a local coordinate system having local orientation, forexample, based on an orientation of the indoor environment, e.g., anorientation of a building.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the local coordinates may be based onan origin, e.g., the point (0,0), which may be located at a predefinedlocation within the indoor environment, e.g., a point within a buildingin which device 102 may be navigating.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the global coordinates of the originand the local orientation of the local coordinate system may be used,for example, to allow uniquely transforming local coordinates intoglobal coordinates, and vice versa.

In some demonstrative embodiments, a location of a node, e.g., node 130,may be defined, e.g., in a database to be used for indoor navigation,for example, by defining the predefined location of the origin and thelocal orientation of the local coordinate system, measuring the originlocation in global coordinates such as ECEF, and measuring the locationof the node in the local coordinates, e.g., relative to the origin.

In some demonstrative embodiments, a plurality of nodes, which havelocations measured relative to the same common origin may have very highlocal accuracy, e.g., the distances between all the nodes may be veryaccurate. In contrast, nodes, which have locations measured with respectto different origins may have relatively large relative accuracy errors,e.g., since it may be very hard to accurately measure the location ofthe origin in global coordinates.

In one example, nodes 130, 140 and 150 may have very high localaccuracy, for example, if a location of nodes 130, 140 and 150 ismeasured relative to a first origin.

In another example, nodes 130, 160 and 170 may have relatively largerelative accuracy errors, for example, if a location of node 130 ismeasured relative to the first origin and a location of nodes 160 and170 is measured relative to a second origin, e.g., at a differentlocation from the location of the first origin.

In some demonstrative embodiments, a local position accuracy of aposition of device 102 measured with respect to a plurality of nodes maynot be affected by an error in the global coordinates of the nodes, forexample, if all the nodes are measured relative to the same origin,e.g., as described below.

Reference is made to FIG. 2, which schematically illustrates adeployment of six nodes in an indoor environment 200, in accordance withsome demonstrative embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 2, the six nodes may include a first node, denoted “1”,a second node, denoted “2”, a third node, denoted “3”, a fourth node,denoted “4”, a fifth node, denoted “5”, and a sixth node, denoted “6”.For example, the first, second, third, forth, fifth and sixth nodes mayperform the functionality of nodes 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, and 180(FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 2, a first group of nodes, e.g., the first, second andthird nodes, may be defined with respect to a first common origin, e.g.,the location of the first node, at the global coordinates, e.g., ECEFcoordinates (6000,6000).

As shown in FIG. 2, a second group of nodes, e.g., the fourth, fifth andsixth nodes may be defined with respect to a second common origin, e.g.,the location of the fourth node, at the global coordinates of(6000,6003).

As shown in FIG. 2, the local and global coordinates of the six nodesmay be as follows:

TABLE 1 Node Local Global number Coordinates Coordinates 1 (0, 0) (6000,6000) 2 (3, 3) (6003, 6003) 3 (5, 1) (6005, 6001) 4 (0, 0) (6000, 6003)5  (2, −5) (6002, 5998) 6 (5, 1) (6005, 6004)

As shown in Table 1, the third node and the sixth node may have the samelocal coordinates, e.g., (5,1).

In some demonstrative embodiments, measuring the distance between thethird node and the sixth node may include transforming the localcoordinates of the third node and the sixth node into globalcoordinates, and calculating the distance between the global coordinatesof the third node and the sixth node.

For example, the distance between the third node and the sixth node,denoted D₃₋₆, may be calculated as follows:

D ₃₋₆=sqrt((6005−6005)̂2+(6004−6001)̂2)=3m  (3)

In some demonstrative embodiments, the distance between two nodesbelonging to the same group may be calculated using the Global or thelocal coordinates.

In one example, the distance, denoted D₅₋₆, between the fifth node andthe sixth node in global coordinates may be calculated as follows:

D ₅₋₆=sqrt((6002−6005)̂2+(5998−6004)̂72)=6.7m  (4)

In another example, the distance, denoted D₂₋₃, between the second nodeand the third node in local coordinates may be calculated as follows:

D ₂₋₃=sqrt((2−5)̂2+(−5−1)̂2)=6.7m  (5)

In some demonstrative embodiments, there may be an error when measuringthe global coordinates of at least one of the groups, e.g., the secondgroup. For example, the measured location of the fourth node, which isused as the origin of the second group, may be at the global coordinates(6000,6005), e.g., instead of the actual global coordinates (6000,6003),for example, due to an error when measuring the location of the fourthnode.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the error in the global coordinatesof the second origin of the second group may affect the globalcoordinates of the fifth node and the sixth node, which may bedetermined based on the global coordinates of the second origin, e.g.,as follows:

TABLE 2 AP Local Global number Coordinates Coordinates 1 (0, 0) (6000,6000) 2 (3, 3) (6003, 6003) 3 (5, 1) (6005, 6001) 4 (0, 0) (6000, 6005)5  (2, −5) (6002, 6000) 6 (5, 1) (6005, 6006)

In some demonstrative embodiments, the distances determined between thenodes of different groups may be affected by the error in the globalcoordinates of the second origin of the second group.

For example, a determined distance between the third node and the sixthnode, denoted D′₃₋₆, based on the error of the location of the fourthnode may be calculated as follows:

D′ ₃₋₆=sqrt((6005−6005)̂2+(6004−6001)̂2)=5m  (6)

Accordingly, the error at the location of the fourth node may result inan error of 2m in the determined distance D′₃₋₆ with respect to theactual distance between the second node and the third node.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the distances determined between thenodes of a common group, e.g., the first group or the second group, maynot be affected by the error in the global coordinates of the group.

In one example, the determined distance in global coordinates, denotedD′₅₋₆, between the fifth node and the sixth node based on the error ofthe location of the fourth node may be calculated, for example, asfollows:

D′ ₅₋₆=sqrt((6002−6005)̂2+(6000−6006)̂2)=6.7m  (7)

In another example, the determined distance, denoted D′₂₋₃, in localcoordinates, between the second node and the third node may becalculated as follows:

D′ ₂₋₃=((2−5)̂2+(−5−1)̂2)=6.7m  (8)

According to the above examples, there may be no error for a distancecalculated between nodes from the same group, e.g., whether performed inglobal or local coordinates.

Referring back to FIG. 1, some demonstrative embodiments may enabledefining groups of nodes, which are measured from a same common origin,having the same local orientation and the same local coordinates, e.g.,as described below.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the nodes of a group of nodes mayshare the same origin accuracy characteristics and, accordingly, mayeliminate the global origin inaccuracy, e.g., when navigating indoors.

In some demonstrative embodiments, defining the groups of nodes mayenable, for example, deriving a much more accurate position from thesame nodes, for example, by eliminating the errors associated with nodesof different groups, e.g., as described above.

In some demonstrative embodiments, wireless communication units 112 and132 may communicate a message including a group identifier to indicatenode 130 belongs to a group of two or more nodes having localcoordinates measured with respect to a common origin point.

In one example, nodes 130, 140 and 150 may belong to a first group 155having local coordinates measured with respect to a first common originpoint 157; and nodes 160, 170 and 180 may belong to a second group 185having local coordinates measured with respect to a second common originpoint 187, e.g., different from first origin point 157. Accordingly,wireless communication units 112 and/or 132 may communicate a messageincluding a group identifier indicating that node 130 belongs to group155.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the group identifier may beconfigured to uniquely identify the group, e.g., the group identifiermay include a unique group identifier.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the group identifier may be based ona media-access-control (MAC) address of a node of the group of nodes.For example, the group identifier of group 155 may be based on the MACaddress of node 130, and the group identifier of group 185 may be basedon the MAC address of node 180.

In one example, the group identifier may include a 64-bit group IDfield, which may include, for example, 48 bits of a MAC address of anode assigning the group, followed by 12 bits of a group number, and,optionally, 4 reserved bits. In another example, the group identifiermay include any other field and/or may be defined in any other manner.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the message may include localcoordinates of node 130 relative to origin point 157.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the message may include groupinformation corresponding to group 155.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the group information may include atleast one information element of global coordinates of origin point 157,e.g., ECEF and/or WGS84 coordinates of origin point 157, a measurementaccuracy of the global coordinates origin point 157, and/or orientationinformation defining an orientation of the local coordinates, e.g.,relative to the global coordinates or any other coordinate system.

For example, the orientation information may include a globalcoordinate, e.g., ECEF coordinate, and a local coordinate correspondingto the global coordinate of at least one location, for example, suchthat the orientation may be determined based on the global coordinatesof the origin and the global and local coordinate of the at least onelocation. In another example, the orientation information may include anx or y orientation; a standard North East Down (NED) system or LNFcoordinate systems, e.g., x—north, y—east, z—down, or any otherorientation information.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the message may include a beaconbroadcasted by node 130.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the beacon broadcasted by node 130may include the group identifier of group 155 and/or the localcoordinates of node 130 relative to origin point 157.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the message may include a proberequest transmitted from device 102 to node 130.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the probe request may include thegroup identifier of group 155.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the message may include a proberesponse transmitted from node 130 to device 102, e.g., in response tothe probe request.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the probe response may include atleast the group identifier of group 155 and/or the local coordinates ofnode 130 relative to origin point 157 and/or relative to the globalcoordinates.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the message may include a LocationConfiguration Information (LCI) request transmitted from device 102 tonode 130.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the request frame may include a fieldidentifying a particular group identifier. For example, device 102 maytransmit the request frame to node 130 including the group identifier ofgroup 155.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the LCI request may include a firstindication flag to request the group information. For example, the firstindication flag may include a bit, which may have a predefined value,e.g., “1”, representing the indication flag to indicate that the groupinformation is requested. For example, device 102 may transmit therequest frame to node 130 including the first indication flag set to “1”to request group information of group 155.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the LCI request frame may include asecond indication flag to indicate a type of information requested to bereported. For example, the second indication flag may include anindication to report a location of node 130, node 140, node 150, node160, node 170 and/or node 180 with local coordinates and/or globalcoordinates.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the LCI request frame may include athird indication flag to request for the location of nodes, which arepart of a particular group. For example, device 102 may send the LCIrequest frame to node 150 to request node 150 to send the localcoordinates of one or more nodes within group 185.

Reference is made to FIG. 3, which schematically illustrates an LCIrequest frame 300, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.For example, device 102 (FIG. 1) may transmit LCI request frame 300 tonode 130 (FIG. 1) to request the group information of group 155 (FIG.1).

As shown in FIG. 3, LCI request frame 300 may include a Latitude field302, a Longitude field 304, an Altitude field 306 and an OptionalSubelements field 308. For example, Latitude field 302, Longitude field304, and/or Altitude field 306 may include a requested resolution to beused for providing the Latitude, Longitude and/or Altitude coordinatesof an origin of the group.

In some demonstrative embodiments, Optional Subelements field 308 mayinclude a group identifier 310, a first indication flag 312, a secondindication flag 314 and/or a third indication flag 316, e.g., asdescribed above.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some demonstrative embodiments, wirelesscommunication unit 112 and/or 132 may communicate an LCI report frametransmitted from node 130 to device 102, e.g., in response to the LCIrequest frame, e.g., LCI request frame 300 (FIG. 3).

In some demonstrative embodiments, the LCI report frame may include afield including the group identifier, and local coordinates of node 130.For example, the LCI report may include the group identifier of group155 and local coordinates of node 130 relative to origin 157 and/orrelative to the global coordinates.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the LCI report frame may also includethe type of the local coordinate system and/or the type of orientation,e.g., as described above.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the LCI report frame may also includelocal coordinate information relating to the local coordinates of nodesof the group. For example, the LCI report frame with respect to group185 may include local coordinates of nodes 160, 170 and/or 180.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the local coordinate information mayinclude X, Y, Z coordinates, a resolution and/or an accuracy for one ormore nodes, e.g., each node of the group.

Reference is made to FIG. 4, which schematically illustrates an LCIreport frame 400, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments. Forexample, node 130 (FIG. 1) may transmit LCI report frame 400 to device102 (FIG. 1) to provide the group information of group 155 (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 4, LCI report frame 400 may include a Latitude field402, a Longitude field 404, an Altitude field 406, and an OptionalSubelements field 408.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the local coordinates of a nodeproviding the LCI report frame 400 may be included in a Latitude field402, e.g., including first coordinate of the node in the localcoordinates, e.g., a “Y” coordinate of a Cartesian coordinate system, aLongitude field 404, e.g., including a second coordinate of the node inthe local coordinates, e.g., an “X” coordinate of a Cartesian coordinatesystem, and/or an Altitude field 406, e.g., including a third coordinateof the node in the local coordinates, e.g., a “Z” coordinate of aCartesian coordinate system.

In some demonstrative embodiments, Optional Subelements field 408 mayinclude a group identifier field 410, the type of the local coordinatessystem, the type of orientation and/or the local coordinates of nodes ofthe group, e.g., as described above.

In one example, LCI report frame 400 may be transmitted from node 130(FIG. 1) to device 102 (FIG. 1). Latitude field 402 may include theLatitude of node 130 (FIG. 1), Longitude field 404 may include theLongitude of node 130 (FIG. 1), and/or Altitude field 406 may includethe Altitude of node 130 (FIG. 1), in local coordinates, e.g., using theX, Y and Z Cartesian coordinates, relative to origin 157 (FIG. 1). Groupidentifier field 410 may include the group identifier of group 155 (FIG.1). LCI report frame 400 may also include the type of the localcoordinates system and the type of orientation; and/or the localcoordinates of nodes 140 and 150 (FIG. 1), for example, if LCI requestframe 300 (FIG. 3) is transmitted from device 102 (FIG. 1) to node 130(FIG. 1) and includes the group identifier of group 155.

In another example, LCI report frame 400 may be transmitted from node180 (FIG. 1) to device 102 (FIG. 1). Latitude field 402 may include aLatitude of node 180 (FIG. 1), Longitude field 404 may include aLongitude of node 180 (FIG. 1), and/or Altitude field 406 may include anAltitude of node 180 (FIG. 1), in local coordinates, e.g., using the X,Y and Z Cartesian coordinates, relative to origin 187 (FIG. 1). Groupidentifier field 410 may include the group identifier of group 185 (FIG.1).. LCI report frame 400 may also include the type of the localcoordinates system and the type of orientation; and/or the localcoordinates of nodes 160 and 170 (FIG. 1), for example, if LCI requestframe 300 (FIG. 3) is transmitted from device 102 (FIG. 1) to node 180(FIG. 1) and includes the group identifier of group 185.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some demonstrative embodiments wirelesscommunication units 112 and/or 132 may communicate a neighbor reportframe between device 102 and node 130.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130 may store a neighbor table137 including information regarding one or more neighbor nodes (“APgroup information”).

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may be able to requestfrom node 130 the AP group information.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may send to node 130 arequest neighbor report frame, e.g., via wireless communication unit112.

In some demonstrative embodiments, node 130 may receive the requestneighbor report frame and may transmit to device 102 a response neighborreport frame, e.g., via wireless communication unit 132, in response tothe request neighbor report frame.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the response neighbor report framemay include the AP group information.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the AP group information may include,for example, information from one or more tables in a managementinformation base (MIB) stored by node 130, relating to one or moreneighboring nodes, which may be candidates for a service set transitionin the MIB, e.g., a table dot11RRMNeighborReportTable in the MIB.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the AP group information may enabledevice 102 to gain information about the neighboring nodes of node 130,for example, to be used as potential roaming candidates, e.g., whendevice 102 is moving closer to the neighboring nodes of node 130.

In one example, device 102 may transmit to node 130 the request neighborreport frame, node 130 may send the response neighbor report frameincluding AP group information of nodes of group 185. The AP groupinformation may include, for example, the local and/or globalcoordinates, the accuracy of the local and/or global coordinates and/orthe resolution of nodes 160, 170 and/or 180 of group 185.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the AP group information may be, forexample, included in the neighbor report response frame as part of a newdedicated Information Element (IE).

In some demonstrative embodiments, the AP group information may be, forexample, added to an existing element of the response neighbor reportframe, for example, added to the Neighbor Report Element or added to aBasic Service Set ID (BSSID) Information Field, e.g., as describedbelow.

Reference is made to FIG. 5, which schematically illustrates a responseneighbor report frame 500, and a BSSID information field 502 of responseneighbor report frame 500, in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments. For example, node 130 (FIG. 1) may transmit responseneighbor report frame 500 to device 102 (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 5, response neighbor report frame 500 may include anOptional Subelements field 510.

In one example, Optional Subelements field 510 may include an AP groupinformation field 512.

In another example, BSSID information field 502 may include Reservedfield 514, and Reserved field 514 may include AP group information field512.

In some demonstrative embodiments, AP group information field 512 mayinclude, for example, the local and/or global coordinates of node 180(FIG. 1), the accuracy of the local and/or global coordinates and/or theresolution of the coordinates of nodes 160, 170 and/or 180 of group 185(FIG. 1), e.g., as described above.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some demonstrative embodiments, device 102may utilize the group information and/or the AP group information toperform a position calculation having a relatively increased accuracy.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may utilize the groupinformation and/or the AP group information to select one or more nodesof nodes 130, 140, 150, 160, 170 and/or 180 to perform the positioncalculation.

In some demonstrative embodiments, wireless communication unit 112 mayreceive a message including a group identifier to indicate a group oftwo or more access points having local coordinates measured with respectto a common origin point. For example, wireless communication unit 112may receive, for example, the beacon frame, the probe response and/orthe LCI report frame from node 130, e.g., as described above.

In some demonstrative embodiments, device 102 may include a locationestimator 122 to select one or more nodes to be used by mobile device102 to estimate a location of mobile device 102 based on the message.

In some demonstrative embodiments, location estimator 122 may select theone or more nodes based on a group identifier of the group. For example,location estimator 122 may select nodes 130, 140 and/or 150 to estimatethe location of device 102, e.g., by performing ToF measurements withnodes 130, 140 and/or 150, based on the group identifier of group 155.

In another example, location estimator 122 may select nodes 160, 170and/or 180 to estimate the location of device 102, e.g., by performingToF measurements with nodes 160, 170 and/or 180, based on the groupidentifier of group 185.

In some demonstrative embodiments, location estimator 122 may prioritizea node belonging to the group over a node not belonging to the group.For example, location estimator may prefer nodes 130, 140 and/or 150 ofgroup 155 over nodes 160, 170 and/or 180 of group 185 to estimate thelocation of device 102, for example, if the group identifier includesthe group identifier of group 155.

In some demonstrative embodiments, location estimator 122 may select aplurality of nodes to be used to estimate a location of mobile device102, each of the plurality of nodes belonging to the same group ofnodes. For example, location estimator 122 may select nodes 130, 140 and150, which belong to group 155.

In one example, location estimator 122 may prefer selecting nodes fromthe same group, e.g., instead of selecting two nodes from one of thegroups and a node from another one of the groups.

In some demonstrative embodiments, location estimator 122 may select aplurality of nodes to be used to estimate the location of mobile device102, which do not belong to the same group. For example, locationestimator 122 may select nodes 130, 140 and 170 to estimate the locationof mobile device 102, for example, if wireless communication unit 132may not be able to communicate with node 150, e.g., if a communicationpath with node 150 is blocked.

In some demonstrative embodiments, location estimator 122 may apply afirst weight to a location-related measurement with a node not belongingto the group of nodes, and a second weight, e.g., greater than the firstweight, to a location-related measurement with a node belonging to thegroup of nodes.

For example, location estimator 122 may apply a first weight to ToFmeasurements with nodes 130 and 140, which belong to group 155; and asecond weight, e.g., lesser than the first weight, to a ToF measurementwith node 170, which does not belong to group 155.

Reference is made to FIG. 6, which schematically illustrates a method ofestimating a location of a mobile device, in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments. In some demonstrative embodiments, one ormore of the operations of the method of FIG. 6 may be performed by anysuitable wireless communication system, e.g., system 100 (FIG. 1), amobile device, e.g., device 102 (FIG. 1), a node, e.g., nodes 130, 140,150, 160, 170 and/or 180 (FIG. 1), a wireless communication unit, e.g.,wireless communication units 112 and/or 132 (FIG. 1) and/or a locationestimator, e.g., location estimator 122 (FIG. 1).

As indicated at block 602, the method may include communicating betweena node and a mobile device a message including a group identifier toindicate the node belongs to a group of two or nodes having localcoordinates measured with respect to a common origin point. For example,wireless communication units 112 and 132 (FIG. 1) may communicate themessage including the group identifier of group 155 (FIG. 1), e.g., asdescribed above.

As indicated at block 603, communicating the message between the nodeand the mobile device may include transmitting the message from thenode. For example, wireless communication unit 132 (FIG. 1) may transmitthe message from node 130 (FIG. 1), e.g., as described above.

As indicated at block 604, communicating the message between the nodeand the mobile device may include receiving the message from the node.For example, wireless communication unit 112 (FIG. 1) may receive themessage from node 130 (FIG. 1), e.g., as described above.

As indicated at block 606, the method may include selecting, based onthe group identifier, one or more nodes to be used by the mobile deviceto estimate a location of the mobile device. For example, locationestimator 122 (FIG. 1) may select nodes 130, 140 and 150 (FIG. 1) basedon the group identifier of group 155 (FIG. 1), e.g., as described above.

As indicated at block 608, selecting the one or more nodes to be used bythe mobile device may include prioritizing a node belonging to the groupof nodes over a node not belonging to the group of nodes. For example,location estimator 122 (FIG. 1) may prioritize nodes 130, 140 and 150(FIG. 1), which belong to group 155 (FIG. 1), over nodes 160, 170 and/or180 (FIG. 1), which belong to group 185 (FIG. 1), e.g., as describedabove.

As indicated at block 610, selecting the one or more nodes to be used bythe mobile device may include selecting a plurality of nodes eachbelonging to the group of nodes. For example, location estimator 122(FIG. 1) may select nodes 130, 140 and 150 (FIG. 1), each belonging togroup 155 (FIG. 1), e.g., as described above.

As indicated at block 612, selecting the one or more nodes to be used bythe mobile device may include applying a first weight to alocation-related measurement with a node belonging to the group ofnodes, and applying a second weight to a location-related measurementwith a node not belonging to the group of nodes. For example, locationestimator 122 (FIG. 1) may apply the first weight to measurements withnodes 130 and 140 (FIG. 1), which belong to group 155 (FIG. 1), and thesecond weight to measurements with node 180 (FIG. 1), which belongs togroup 185 (FIG. 1), e.g., as described above.

Reference is made to FIG. 7, which schematically illustrates a productof manufacture 700, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.Product 700 may include a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium702 to store logic 704, which may be used, for example, to perform atleast part of the functionality of device 102 (FIG. 1), wirelesscommunication unit 112 (FIG. 1), wireless communication unit 132 (FIG.1), nodes 130, 140, 150, 160, 170 and/or 180 (FIG. 1), locationestimator 122 (FIG. 1) and/or to perform one or more operations of themethod of FIG. 6. The phrase “non-transitory machine-readable medium” isdirected to include all computer-readable media, with the sole exceptionbeing a transitory propagating signal.

In some demonstrative embodiments, product 700 and/or machine-readablestorage medium 702 may include one or more types of computer-readablestorage media capable of storing data, including volatile memory,non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable ornon-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and the like. Forexample, machine-readable storage medium 702 may include, RAM, DRAM,Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDR-DRAM), SDRAM, static RAM (SRAM), ROM,programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), Compact Disk ROM (CD-ROM), CompactDisk Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW), flash memory(e.g., NOR or NAND flash memory), content addressable memory (CAM),polymer memory, phase-change memory, ferroelectric memory,silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, a disk, a floppydisk, a hard drive, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a card, a magneticcard, an optical card, a tape, a cassette, and the like. Thecomputer-readable storage media may include any suitable media involvedwith downloading or transferring a computer program from a remotecomputer to a requesting computer carried by data signals embodied in acarrier wave or other propagation medium through a communication link,e.g., a modem, radio or network connection.

In some demonstrative embodiments, logic 704 may include instructions,data, and/or code, which, if executed by a machine, may cause themachine to perform a method, process and/or operations as describedherein. The machine may include, for example, any suitable processingplatform, computing platform, computing device, processing device,computing system, processing system, computer, processor, or the like,and may be implemented using any suitable combination of hardware,software, firmware, and the like.

In some demonstrative embodiments, logic 704 may include, or may beimplemented as, software, a software module, an application, a program,a subroutine, instructions, an instruction set, computing code, words,values, symbols, and the like. The instructions may include any suitabletype of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code,executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Theinstructions may be implemented according to a predefined computerlanguage, manner or syntax, for instructing a processor to perform acertain function. The instructions may be implemented using any suitablehigh-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/orinterpreted programming language, such as C, C++, Java, BASIC, Matlab,Pascal, Visual BASIC, assembly language, machine code, and the like.

EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to further embodiments.

Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising a wireless communication unitto communicate a message between an access point and a mobile device,the message including a group identifier to indicate the access pointbelongs to a group of two or more access points having local coordinatesmeasured with respect to a common origin point.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally,wherein the message includes local coordinates of the access pointrelative to the common origin point.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of Example 1 or 2, and optionally,wherein the message includes group information corresponding to thegroup of access points, the group information including at least oneinformation element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point to the mobile device.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Request transmitted from the mobile device to theaccess point, the LCI Request including a field, which includes thegroup identifier.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Response, transmitted from the access point to themobile device, the LCI Response including a field, which includes thegroup identifier, and local coordinates of the access point.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe request transmittedfrom the mobile device to the access point.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe response transmittedfrom the access point to the mobile device.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-9, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10, andoptionally, comprising the access point.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10, andoptionally, comprising the mobile device.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10, andoptionally, wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive themessage.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10, andoptionally, wherein the wireless communication unit is to transmit themessage.

Example 15 includes a mobile device comprising at least one antenna; awireless communication unit to receive via the antenna a messageincluding a group identifier to indicate a group of two or more accesspoints having local coordinates measured with respect to a common originpoint; and a location estimator to select, based on the groupidentifier, one or more access points to be used by the mobile device toestimate a location of the mobile device.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 15, and optionally,wherein the location estimator is to prioritize an access pointbelonging to the group of access points over an access point notbelonging to the group of access points.

Example 17 includes the subject matter of Example 15, and optionally,wherein the location estimator is to select a plurality of access pointsto be used to estimate a location of the mobile device, each of theplurality of access points belonging to the group of access points.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, and optionally,wherein the location estimator is to select an access point notbelonging to the group of access points, the location estimator is toapply a first weight to a location-related measurement with the accesspoint not belonging to the group of access points, and the locationestimator is to apply a second weight to a location-related measurementwith an access point belonging to the group of access points, the secondweight is greater than the first weight.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 15-18, andoptionally, wherein the message includes local coordinates of an accesspoint of the group of access points relative to the common origin point.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of Example 19, and optionally,wherein the message includes group information corresponding to thegroup of access points, the group information including at least oneinformation element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of Example 19 or 20, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of Example 19 or 20, andoptionally, wherein the mobile device is to transmit a LocationConfiguration Information (LCI) Request to the access point, the LCIRequest including a field, which includes the group identifier, andwherein the mobile device is to receive from the access point a LCIResponse including a field, which includes the group identifier, localcoordinates of the access point, a relative error and an accuracy of thelocal coordinates.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of Example 19 or 20, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of Example 19 or 20, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises response transmitted fromaccess point.

Example 25 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 15-24, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 26 includes a system comprising a wireless communication deviceincluding at least one antenna; and a wireless communication unit tocommunicate a message between an access point and a mobile device, themessage including a group identifier to indicate the access pointbelongs to a group of two or more access points having local coordinatesmeasured with respect to a common origin point.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, and optionally,wherein the message includes local coordinates of the access pointrelative to the common origin point.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 26 or 27, andoptionally, wherein the message includes group information correspondingto the group of access points, the group information including at leastone information element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 29 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-28, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point to the mobile device.

Example 30 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-28, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Request transmitted from the mobile device to theaccess point, the LCI Request including a field, which includes thegroup identifier.

Example 31 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-28, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Response, transmitted from the access point to themobile device, the LCI Response including a field, which includes thegroup identifier, and local coordinates of the access point.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-28, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 33 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-28, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe request transmittedfrom the mobile device to the access point.

Example 34 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-28, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe response transmittedfrom the access point to the mobile device.

Example 35 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-34, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 36 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-35, andoptionally, wherein the wireless communication device comprises theaccess point.

Example 37 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-35, andoptionally, wherein the wireless communication device comprises themobile device.

Example 38 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-35, andoptionally, wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive themessage.

Example 39 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25-35, andoptionally, wherein the wireless communication unit is to transmit themessage.

Example 40 includes a method comprising communicating a message betweenan access point and a mobile device, the message including a groupidentifier to indicate the access point belongs to a group of two ormore access points having local coordinates measured with respect to acommon origin point.

Example 41 includes the subject matter of Example 40, and optionally,wherein the message includes local coordinates of the access pointrelative to the common origin point.

Example 42 includes the subject matter of Example 40 or 41, andoptionally, wherein the message includes group information correspondingto the group of access points, the group information including at leastone information element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 43 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 42, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point to the mobile device.

Example 44 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-42, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Request transmitted from the mobile device to theaccess point, the LCI Request including a field, which includes thegroup identifier.

Example 45 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-42, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI)

Response, transmitted from the access point to the mobile device, theLCI Response including a field, which includes the group identifier, andlocal coordinates of the access point.

Example 46 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-42, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 47 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-42, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe request transmittedfrom the mobile device to the access point.

Example 48 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-42, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe response transmittedfrom the access point to the mobile device.

Example 49 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-48, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 50 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-49, andoptionally, comprising communicating the message by the access point.

Example 51 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-49, andoptionally, comprising communicating the message by the mobile device.

Example 52 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-49, andoptionally, comprising receiving the message.

Example 53 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 40-49, andoptionally, comprising transmitting the message.

Example 54 includes a method comprising receiving at a mobile device amessage including a group identifier to indicate a group of two or moreaccess points having local coordinates measured with respect to a commonorigin point; and selecting, based on the group identifier, one or moreaccess points to be used by a mobile device to estimate a location ofthe mobile device.

Example 55 includes the subject matter of Example 54, and optionally,comprising prioritizing an access point belonging to the group of accesspoints over an access point not belonging to the group of access points.

Example 56 includes the subject matter of Example 54, and optionally,comprising selecting a plurality of access points to be used to estimatea location of the mobile device, each of the plurality of access pointsbelonging to the group of access points.

Example 57 includes the subject matter of Example 56, and optionally,comprising selecting an access point not belonging to the group ofaccess points, applying a first weight to a location-related measurementwith the access point not belonging to the group of access points, andapplying a second weight to a location-related measurement with anaccess point belonging to the group of access points, the second weightis greater than the first weight.

Example 58 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 54-57, andoptionally, wherein the message includes local coordinates of an accesspoint of the group of access points relative to the common origin point.

Example 59 includes the subject matter of Example 58, and optionally,wherein the message includes group information corresponding to thegroup of access points, the group information including at least oneinformation element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 60 includes the subject matter of Example 58 or 59, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point.

Example 61 includes the subject matter of Example 58 or 59, andoptionally, comprising transmitting a Location Configuration Information(LCI) Request to the access point, the LCI Request including a field,which includes the group identifier, and receiving from the access pointa LCI Response including a field, which includes the group identifier,local coordinates of the access point, a relative error and an accuracyof the local coordinates.

Example 62 includes the subject matter of Example 58 or 59, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 63 includes the subject matter of Example 58 or 59, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises response transmitted fromaccess point.

Example 64 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 54-63, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 65 includes a product including a non-transitory storage mediumhaving stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a machine,result in communicating a message between an access point and a mobiledevice, the message including a group identifier to indicate the accesspoint belongs to a group of two or more access points having localcoordinates measured with respect to a common origin point.

Example 66 includes the subject matter of Example 65, and optionally,wherein the message includes local coordinates of the access pointrelative to the common origin point.

Example 67 includes the subject matter of Example 65 or 66, andoptionally, wherein the message includes group information correspondingto the group of access points, the group information including at leastone information element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 68 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point to the mobile device.

Example 69 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Request transmitted from the mobile device to theaccess point, the LCI Request including a field, which includes thegroup identifier.

Example 70 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Response, transmitted from the access point to themobile device, the LCI Response including a field, which includes thegroup identifier, and local coordinates of the access point.

Example 71 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 72 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe request transmittedfrom the mobile device to the access point.

Example 73 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe response transmittedfrom the access point to the mobile device.

Example 74 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-67, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 75 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-74, andoptionally, wherein the instructions result in communicating the messageby the access point.

Example 76 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-74, andoptionally, wherein the instructions result in communicating the messageby the mobile device.

Example 77 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-74, andoptionally, wherein the instructions result in receiving the message.

Example 78 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-74, andoptionally, wherein the instructions result in transmitting the message.

Example 79 includes a product including a non-transitory storage mediumhaving stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a machine,result in receiving at a mobile device a message including a groupidentifier to indicate a group of two or more access points having localcoordinates measured with respect to a common origin point; andselecting, based on the group identifier, one or more access points tobe used by a mobile device to estimate a location of the mobile device.

Example 80 includes the subject matter of Example 79, and optionally,wherein the instructions result in prioritizing an access pointbelonging to the group of access points over an access point notbelonging to the group of access points.

Example 81 includes the subject matter of Example 79, and optionally,wherein the instructions result in selecting a plurality of accesspoints to be used to estimate a location of the mobile device, each ofthe plurality of access points belonging to the group of access points.

Example 82 includes the subject matter of Example 81, and optionally,wherein the instructions result in selecting an access point notbelonging to the group of access points, applying a first weight to alocation-related measurement with the access point not belonging to thegroup of access points, and applying a second weight to alocation-related measurement with an access point belonging to the groupof access points, the second weight is greater than the first weight.

Example 83 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 79-82, andoptionally, wherein the message includes local coordinates of an accesspoint of the group of access points relative to the common origin point.

Example 84 includes the subject matter of Example 83, and optionally,wherein the message includes group information corresponding to thegroup of access points, the group information including at least oneinformation element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 85 includes the subject matter of Example 83 or 84, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point.

Example 86 includes the subject matter of Example 83 or 84, andoptionally, wherein the instructions result in transmitting a LocationConfiguration Information (LCI) Request to the access point, the LCIRequest including a field, which includes the group identifier, andreceiving from the access point a LCI Response including a field, whichincludes the group identifier, local coordinates of the access point, arelative error and an accuracy of the local coordinates.

Example 87 includes the subject matter of Example 83 or 84, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 88 includes the subject matter of Example 83 or 84, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises response transmitted fromaccess point.

Example 89 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 79-88, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 90 includes an apparatus comprising means for communicating amessage between an access point and a mobile device, the messageincluding a group identifier to indicate the access point belongs to agroup of two or more access points having local coordinates measuredwith respect to a common origin point.

Example 91 includes the subject matter of Example 90, and optionally,wherein the message includes local coordinates of the access pointrelative to the common origin point.

Example 92 includes the subject matter of Example 90 or 91, andoptionally, wherein the message includes group information correspondingto the group of access points, the group information including at leastone information element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 93 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-92, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point to the mobile device.

Example 94 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-92, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Request transmitted from the mobile device to theaccess point, the LCI Request including a field, which includes thegroup identifier.

Example 95 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-92, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Response, transmitted from the access point to themobile device, the LCI Response including a field, which includes thegroup identifier, and local coordinates of the access point.

Example 96 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-92, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 97 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-92, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe request transmittedfrom the mobile device to the access point.

Example 98 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-92, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a probe response transmittedfrom the access point to the mobile device.

Example 99 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-98, andoptionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Example 100 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-99,and optionally, comprising means for communicating the message by theaccess point.

Example 101 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-99,and optionally, comprising means for communicating the message by themobile device.

Example 102 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-99,and optionally, comprising means for receiving the message.

Example 103 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 90-99,and optionally, comprising means for transmitting the message.

Example 104 includes an apparatus comprising means for receiving at amobile device a message including a group identifier to indicate a groupof two or more access points having local coordinates measured withrespect to a common origin point; and

means for selecting, based on the group identifier, one or more accesspoints to be used by a mobile device to estimate a location of themobile device.

Example 105 includes the subject matter of Example 104, and optionally,comprising means for prioritizing an access point belonging to the groupof access points over an access point not belonging to the group ofaccess points.

Example 106 includes the subject matter of Example 104, and optionally,comprising means for selecting a plurality of access points to be usedto estimate a location of the mobile device, each of the plurality ofaccess points belonging to the group of access points.

Example 107 includes the subject matter of Example 106, and optionally,comprising means for selecting an access point not belonging to thegroup of access points, applying a first weight to a location-relatedmeasurement with the access point not belonging to the group of accesspoints, and applying a second weight to a location-related measurementwith an access point belonging to the group of access points, the secondweight is greater than the first weight.

Example 108 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 104-107,and optionally, wherein the message includes local coordinates of anaccess point of the group of access points relative to the common originpoint.

Example 109 includes the subject matter of Example 108, and optionally,wherein the message includes group information corresponding to thegroup of access points, the group information including at least oneinformation element selected from the group consisting of globalcoordinates of the origin point, a measurement accuracy of the globalcoordinates of the origin point, and orientation information defining anorientation of the local coordinates.

Example 110 includes the subject matter of Example 108 or 109, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a neighbor report frametransmitted from the access point.

Example 111 includes the subject matter of Example 108 or 109, andoptionally, comprising means for transmitting a Location ConfigurationInformation (LCI) Request to the access point, the LCI Request includinga field, which includes the group identifier, and receiving from theaccess point a LCI Response including a field, which includes the groupidentifier, local coordinates of the access point, a relative error andan accuracy of the local coordinates.

Example 112 includes the subject matter of Example 108 or 109, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises a beacon broadcasted by theaccess point.

Example 113 includes the subject matter of Example 108 or 109, andoptionally, wherein the message comprises response transmitted fromaccess point.

Example 114 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 104-113,and optionally, wherein the group identifier is based on amedia-access-control (MAC) address of an access point of the group ofaccess points.

Functions, operations, components and/or features described herein withreference to one or more embodiments, may be combined with, or may beutilized in combination with, one or more other functions, operations,components and/or features described herein with reference to one ormore other embodiments, or vice versa.

While certain features have been illustrated and described herein, manymodifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents may occur tothose skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that theappended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changesas fall within the true spirit of the invention.

1-24. (canceled)
 25. An apparatus including circuitry to cause a firststation to: receive a Location Configuration Information (LCI) reportfrom a second station, the LCI report including a relative locationerror subelement, which is configured to indicate a location error ofthe second station with respect to an origin point; and estimate alocation of said first station based at least in part on the locationerror.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the circuitry is to causethe first station to: receive from the second station a neighbor reportincluding the LCI report and information of a plurality of access pointsto be used by said first station to estimate the location of said firststation.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the LCI report compriseslatitude information, longitude information, and altitude information.28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the first station comprises amobile device.
 29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the second stationcomprises an access point (AP).
 30. The apparatus of claim 25,comprising one or more antennas.
 31. The apparatus of claim 25comprising a transceiver configured to receive the LCI report.
 32. Theapparatus of claim 25 comprising a transceiver configured to transmitthe LCI request.
 33. An apparatus including circuitry to cause an accesspoint (AP) to: receive a Location Configuration Information (LCI)request from a mobile device; and transmit to the mobile device a LCIreport in response to the LCI request, the LCI report including arelative location error subelement, which is configured to indicate alocation error of the AP with respect to an origin point.
 34. Theapparatus of claim 33, wherein the circuitry is to cause the AP to:transmit to the mobile device a neighbor report including the LCI reportand information of a plurality of access points to be used to estimate alocation of the mobile device.
 35. The apparatus of claim 33, whereinthe LCI report comprises latitude information, longitude information,and altitude information of the AP.
 36. The apparatus of claim 33,comprising one or more antennas.
 37. The apparatus of claim 33comprising a transceiver configured to receive the LCI request, and totransmit the LCI report.
 38. A computer program product comprising oneor more tangible computer readable non-transitory storage mediacomprising computer-executable instructions operable to, when executedby at least one processor logic, enable the at least one processor logicto: receive at a first station a Location Configuration Information(LCI) report from a second station, the LCI report including a relativelocation error subelement, which is configured to indicate a locationerror of the second station with respect to an origin point; andestimate a location of said first station based at least in part on thelocation error.
 39. The computer program product of claim 38, whereinthe instructions, when executed, are to enable the at least oneprocessor logic to: receive from the second station a neighbor reportincluding the LCI report and information of a plurality of access pointsto be used by said first station to estimate the location of said firststation.
 40. The computer program product claim of 38, wherein the LCIreport comprises latitude information, longitude information, andaltitude information.
 41. A computer program product comprising one ormore tangible computer readable non-transitory storage media comprisingcomputer-executable instructions operable to, when executed by at leastone processor logic, enable the at least one processor logic to: receiveat an Access Point (AP) a Location Configuration Information (LCI)request from a mobile; and transmit to the mobile device a LCI report inresponse to the LCI request, the LCI report including a relativelocation error subelement, which is configured to indicate a locationerror of the AP with respect to an origin point.
 42. The computerprogram product of claim 41, wherein the instructions, when executed,are to enable the at least one processor logic to: transmit to themobile device a neighbor report including the LCI report and informationof a plurality of access points to be used to estimate a location of themobile device.
 43. The computer program product claim of 41, wherein theLCI report comprises latitude information, longitude information, andaltitude information.
 44. A method to be performed by a first station,the method comprising: receiving a Location Configuration Information(LCI) report from a second station, the LCI report including a relativelocation error subelement, which is configured to indicate a locationerror of the second station with respect to an origin point; andestimating a location of said first station based at least in part onthe location error.
 45. The method of claim 44 comprising: receivingfrom the second station a neighbor report including the LCI report andinformation of a plurality of access points to be used by said firststation to estimate the location of said first station.
 46. The methodof claim 44, wherein the LCI report comprises latitude information,longitude information, and altitude information.
 47. A method to beperformed by an access point (AP), the method comprising: receiving aLocation Configuration Information (LCI) request from a mobile device;and transmitting to the mobile device a LCI report in response to theLCI request, the LCI report including a relative location errorsubelement, which is configured to indicate a location error of the APwith respect to an origin point.
 48. The method of claim 47 comprising:transmitting to the mobile device a neighbor report including the LCIreport and information of a plurality of access points to be used toestimate a location of the mobile device.
 49. The method of claim 47,wherein the LCI report comprises latitude information, longitudeinformation, and altitude information.